As Amazon and Barnes & Noble have discovered, there may be a market for 7 inch Android tablets… at the right price. Now it looks like Toshiba wants in on the action.
Toshiba introduced a 7 inch Thrive tablet with a 1280 x 800 pixel display in late 2011. But Notebook Italia has a few details about a new Toshiba 7 inch tablet which will likely carry a lower price tag than the $380 Thrive tablet
The new model is a little thinner than the Thrive, and also has a lower resolution 1024 x 600 pixel display. It also lacks the rubberized back panel and LED flash for the rear camera.
But the new Toshiba tablet does have a microUSB port, microSD card slot, and Bluetooth, which will help set it apart from other budget tablets such as the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet.
What the Toshiba tablet doesn’t have is Amazon’s digital music, movie, and book stores. It’s likely that at least part of the Kindle Fire’s success is due to the software ecosystem Amazon makes available, and not just the cheap price.
You can find more photos of the new tablet at Notebook Italia.
The Thrive 7″ is the budget build with too high of a price tag.
>>What the Toshiba tablet doesn’t have is Amazon’s digital music, movie, and book stores.
How does this matter when Amazon provides Android apps and in-browser full screen streaming for all of the above??